A's sign Bartolo Colon to a one-year deal

The Oakland A's have agreed to a one-year deal with pitcher Bartolo Colon, according to ESPN's Jayson Stark.

Colon finished last season with a record of 8-10 and an ERA of 4.00, but he started the season much better than he finished it.

Here are his splits of first three and second three months:

• April-June: 5-3, 3.10 ERA, 8.27 K/9
• July-September: 3-7, 4.81 ERA, 6.59 K/9

While he may fade toward the end of the season again and he loses the run support provided by the Yankees, Colon moves to a more favorable stadium.

Last year, A's pitchers more than a full run differential when comparing their ERA at home (3.18) vs. on the road (4.26).

Nationals, Gio Gonzalez agree to extension through 2016

The Washington Nationals announced via Twitter that they have agreed to a contract extension with starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez through the 2016 season.

In addition, there is a team option for the 2017 and 2018 season as well.

Gonzalez, who was acquired for four prospects last month, would have been eligible for arbitration this offseason.

In the past two seasons, Gonzalez has won 15-plus games, pitched 200-plus innings and posted a sub-3.25 ERA each year. Last season, he set career highs in wins (16) and strikeouts (197) and a career low in ERA (3.12).

Among qualified pitchers, Gonzalez ranked 11th in MLB in K/9 (8.78) last season. But only Toronto's Brandon Morrow (10.19), Seattle's (now New York's) Michael Pineda (9.11) and Detroit's Justin Verlander (8.96) had a better K/9 among A.L. starting pitchers.

That said, only Pittsburgh's James McDonald had a worse BB/9 (4.11) than Gonzalez (4.05) last year among qualified starters.

Report: Ryan Braun faces 50-game suspension for PEDs

Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun has tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs, according to a report by ESPN's Outside the Lines.

Per the report, the failed test has not been announced since Braun is appealing the result through arbitration.

Braun's spokeman released the following statement (via ESPN): "There are highly unusual circumstances surrounding this case which will support Ryan's complete innocence and demonstrate there was absolutely no intentional violation of the program. While Ryan has impeccable character and no previous history, unfortunately, because of the process we have to maintain confidentiality and are not able to discuss it any further, but we are confident he will ultimately be exonerated.

Per the report, Braun failed an initial test and MLB had the World Anti-Doping Agency lab in Montreal conduct a second test, which revealed the testosterone was not produced naturally within Braun's body.

In the offseason, Braun signed a five-year extension worth roughly $105 million. Braun, who was named the 2011 N.L. MVP, hit a career-high .332 with 33 home runs, 111 runs batted in and scored 109 runs.

Braun also stole a career-high 33 bases and was one of four players to finish with 30-30 seasons. The other three were Matt Kemp, Ian Kinsler and Jacoby Ellsbury.

Angels, Jered Weaver agree to five-year deal worth $85 million

Per Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times, it is believed that the Angels and ace Jered Weaver have agreed to a five-year deal that is worth $85 million. Bolch notes that Weaver's agent Scott Boras would not confirm that news over the phone.

That said, the Angels have scheduled a news conference for tomorrow afternoon.

Despite his poor performance on August 13th (eight earned runs), Weaver has a 2.10 ERA and is 14-6 on the season. He leads the A.L. in ERA and is second in all of baseball behind Cincinnati's Johnny Cueto (1.89).

Weaver's ERA has declined every year since 2008: 4.33 to 3.75 (2009) to 3.01 (2010) to 2.10 (2011).

Last year, Weaver led all of baseball in strikeouts (233). This year, Weaver has struck out 158 batters in 188.1 innings pitched.

Giants place Brian Wilson on the DL

The San Francisco Giants have placed closer Brian Wilson on the 15-day disabled list (DL).

Since he last pitched on August 15th, Wilson is eligible to come off the DL on August 31st.

"We put him on the DL so we did not have the urge to push him," [Giants manager Bruce] Bochy said, per Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. "Or to have Willie go out there when he's not right. He wanted to try to get through it. Long term, it's the best thing for his career."

While Wilson is out, it appears that Jeremy Affeldt is most likely going to get the ball in the ninth.

On the season, Affeldt is 1-2 with three saves, 12 holds and 49 strikeouts in 54 2/3 innings pitched. His ERA is 2.63 and WHIP is 1.15.

Rockies trade Ubaldo Jimenez to Indians for four prospects including Drew Pomeranz

The Colorado Rockies have traded starter Ubaldo Jimenez to the Cleveland Indians for four prospects: pitchers Drew Pomeranz, Alex White and Joe Gardner and first baseman Matt McBride.

All three pitchers rank in the top six of the Indians prospects by MLB.com with Pomeranz, the fifth overall pick in 2010, ranked second behind third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall.

Technically, Pomeranz can't be traded until August 15th.

Jimenez, who was rocked last night (four walks and four earned runs in one inning), has a reasonable salary over the next couple of seasons: $2.8 million (2011), $4.2 million (2012) and $5.7 million (2013). There is a club option for $14 million in 2014, but Jimenez can void that due to the trade.

But ESPN's Keith Law thinks that the Indians made a bad move for two reasons. First, the Indians have struggled (23-36) since their surprising start (30-15), which came against relatively easier competition. Second, it's unclear which Ubaldo Jimenez the Indians will get.

Last year, Jimenez was 15-1 with a 2.20 ERA heading into the All-Star Break. Since then, Jimenez has a 10-16 record with an ERA of 4.19.

"He's been a little beat up this year," closer Chris Perez said of Jimenez (via Paul Hoynsie of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer), "but Colorado isn't the easiest place to pitch. His road numbers are much better and he's on a club-friendly contract.

"I think we gave up a lot of talent, but you have to give talent to get talent. Pomeranz has a lot of talent, but at the same time he's never pitched up here. In five years we might be kicking ourselves."

As of last night's game, the Indians are 53-51 and 1.5 games behind the Detroit Tigers (56-51).

Alex Rodriguez to have knee surgery Monday, out 4-6 weeks

New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez will have surgery on Monday to repair his torn meniscus, per Peter Botte of the NY Daily News.

Rodriguez will miss the next 4-to-6 weeks while recovering from the surgery.

Although he considered playing through the injury, which initially occurred on June 19th, it makes more sense to get it taken care of now.

"Absolutely. That's what I would say, if you're going to have the surgery, let's get it done as soon as possible so some of the off-days you're having are during the (All-Star) break," [manager Joe] Girardi said. "If he decided not to have the surgery, we've seen how it's kind of affected him up to this point."

This means Rodriguez will have landed on the disabled list in four consecutive seasons.

A-Rod hasn't hit a home run in his past 85 at-bats, which is the longest drought of his career.

On the season, Rodriguez is hitting .295 with 13 home runs and 52 runs batted in.

Derek Jeter homers for 3,000th hit

Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter homered for his 3,000th career (regular-season) hit off Rays starting pitcher David Price.

Jeter, who is the 28th player to reach the milestone, became only the second player to homer for his 3,000th hit. As noted by SI's Joe Posnanski, Wade Boggs was the other player.

In addition, Jeter becomes the first player in franchise history to reach the milestone while collecting all 3,000 hits as a Yankee.

Here are the other 27 players to have reached the milestone in Major League Baseball history:

1. Pete Rose (4,256)
2. Ty Cobb (4,189)
3. Hank Aaron (3,771)
4. Stan Musial (3,630)
5. Tris Speaker (3,514)
6. Cap Anson (3,435)
7. Honus Wagner (3,420)
8. Carl Yastrzemski (3,419)
9. Paul Molitor (3,319)
10. Eddie Collins (3,315)
11. Willie Mays (3,283)
12. Eddie Murray (3,255)
13. Nap Lajoie (3,242)
14. Cal Ripken (3,184)
15. George Brett (3,154)
16. Paul Waner (3,152)
17. Robin Yount (3,142)
18. Tony Gwynn (3,141)
19. Dave Winfield (3,110)
20. Craig Biggio (3,060)
21. Rickey Henderson (3,055)
22. Rod Carew (3,053)
23. Lou Brock (3,023)
24. Rafael Palmeiro (3,020)
25. Wade Boggs (3,010)
26. Al Kaline (3,007)
27. Roberto Clemente (3,000)

The next closest active player to reach 3,000 hits is Nationals catcher Ivan Rodriguez, who has 2,842 hits as of yesterday.

When it's all said and done, how high will Jeter finish on this list (vote on our poll here)?

Ryan Braun's MRI shows inflammation but no structural damage

Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun missed a fourth consecutive game on Wednesday. And although he won't play in the series opener against the Reds on Thursday, he could return as early as Friday, per MLB.com's Adam McCalvey.

Braun had an MRI today and the results showed inflammation in a tendon behind the knee -- but no structural damage.

"I think it was the best-case result," Braun said, per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. "They said the only thing that could have been better was if it was more in the muscle. It's kind of more hamstring than calf. It's in a tendon behind my knee that's in between the calf and the hamstring. It doesn't get as much blood flow as a muscle does.

"I'm not in pain or anything like that. It's just that, unfortunately, I'm not able to do baseball activities. The goal is to minimize the time missed. It's more beneficial to miss a little time now than a long time down the road."

If Braun doesn't play this weekend, he said he won't play in the All-Star Game next week.

On the season, Braun is hitting .320 with 16 home runs, 62 runs batted in and 19 stolen bases. Along with Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp, Braun is one of two players in baseball that is hitting at least .300 with 15-plus homers and 15-plus steals.

C.C. Sabathia becomes first pitcher this season to win ten games

Yankees starter C.C. Sabathia became the first pitcher in baseball to win ten games this season.

In today's 8-3 win over the Rockies, Sabathia allowed only one run, which came in the eighth inning, and struck out nine batters in eight innings.

“I wish I could say it meant something, but it don’t,” he said with a shrug and a sly smile, per the Associated Press. “We’re here to win championships. That’s what we’re trying to do.”

Today's win means the Yankees have moved into a tie with the Red Sox for the best record (44-31) in the American League. Only the Phillies have a better record (48-29) in all of baseball.

Although Sabathia won two of his past three starts, today's performance was the first solid outing he had over his last four starts. Before today's game, he allowed 14 earned runs in 20 2/3 innings (6.24 ERA) in that three-game span.

On the season, Sabathia is 10-4 with an ERA of 3.25 and 93 strikeouts.

Cliff Lee has allowed only one earned run in 33 innings in June

Against the Pujols-less Cardinals, Phillies starter Cliff Lee threw a six-hit shutout last night.

It was the second straight shutout for Lee and his eighth career shutout (all since 2008).

“There’s total gratification,” Lee said. “Every time I want to throw the whole game, there’s no doubt about it. I think I could have gone the 10th and the 11th, too.”

Lee has allowed only one run in 33 innings over four starts in the month of June. For the month, he is 4-0 with an ERA of 0.27 and 29 strikeouts.

Per ESPN's Stats and Info, only four Phillies pitchers have an ERA under 1.00 for a month with five starts since World World II. The last to do so was Jim Bunning in August 1967 (0.87 ERA).

Lee should get his fifth start next week when the Phillies host the Red Sox from June 28-30.

On the season, Lee is the top seven in the National League in all Triple Crown categories: eight wins (tied for fifth), 2.87 ERA (seventh) and 114 strikeouts (third).

Red Sox place Carl Crawford on 15-day DL

The Boston Red Sox have placed left fielder Carl Crawford on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left hamstring, per ESPN Boston.

"I think the medical people thought at best it was going to be 10 to 14 days [recovery time],'' [manager Terry] Francona said of Crawford, who was diagnosed with a Grade 1 strain, the least severe. "I called him and talked to him this morning, he gets it.”

To take Crawford's roster spot, the Red Sox have recalled outfielder Josh Reddick from Triple-A.

This will be the second stint with the Red Sox this season for Reddick, who had five hits in 13 at-bats and four runs batted in during his first stint.

After getting off to a horrible start (.155, one home run and six RBIs in April), Crawford was hitting .295 with five homers and 25 RBIs in May and June.

On the season, Crawford is hitting .243 with six home runs, 31 RBIs and eight stolen bases.

Braves place Martin Prado on 15-day DL

The Braves have placed left fielder Martin Prado on the 15-day disabled list with a staph infection in his right calf, per David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Prado had a surgical procedure on Friday to clean out the infection.

“They sliced him, and he’s got to heal from the inside out,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “They pumped him with antibiotics. ... I think it was caused by a [bruise], from a slide.”

As O'Brien notes, the team's entire Opening Day outfield is now on the DL as Prado joins Jason Heyward (shoulder) and Nate McLouth (oblique).

On the season, Prado is hitting .277 and leads the team in home runs (eight) and runs batted in (33).

Matt Kemp out of lineup due to tight hamstring

Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp was scratched from tonight's game due to a tight left hamstring, per Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times.

Hernandez also tweeted the team removed him from the lineup "as a precaution" so it doesn't seem to be serious.

In his previous nine games, Kemp had 16 hits (seven multi-hit games), six home runs and 17 runs batted in.

On the season, he is top five in the National League in the triple-crown categories: average (.329, fifth), home runs (18, first) and runs batted in (53, second).

Marlins place Hanley Ramirez on disabled list

For the first time in his major league career, Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez has been placed on the 15-day disabled list (DL) with a back strain.

The move is retroactive to May 30th, which means Ramirez will be eligible to come off the DL on June 14th when the Marlins open up a four-game series against the Phillies.

"I think I feel better today, way better than yesterday and the day before," Ramirez said (via the Miami Herald). "Today is the first day where I feel like everything is coming along. My lower back is getting looser and my hip is better."

So, how soon will he be back on the field?

While Ramirez hopes it's as soon as possible, Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez said, "Nobody knows, not even him."

The Marlins called up left-hander Brad Hand, who was 7-1 with an ERA of 3.53 in Double-A this year. Hand will start Tuesday's game.

Ramirez has struggled -- .210 batting average, four home runs, 17 runs batted in and 11 stolen bases in 48 games this season.